'Incredible' Red Bull upgrade enlivens F1 in Malaysia
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia following a successful floor upgrade to his Red Bull car. Despite a strong challenge from Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen remains the favorite to win after a season of significant performance improvements.
Why it matters
This highlights the rapid technical development cycles in Formula 1 and the competitive dynamics between top drivers and teams.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Verstappen took his first pole position of 2026 at Sepang
F1 Correspondent Published 4 minutes ago Even Lewis Hamilton, starting from his equal best grid position of the year in second place, fears Max Verstappen will be tough to beat in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Verstappen has dominated the weekend so far on Formula 1's return to the Sepang track for the first time since 2017.
Hamilton joins him on the front row to revive memories of their no-holds-barred title battle five years ago.
But at nearly 0.3 seconds slower in qualifying, and with the pace Verstappen has shown all weekend, Hamilton's mindset on Saturday was to "just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow".
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